Party Time!!

We celebrated Jacob's second birthday over the weekend since we'll be out of town the weekend before his actual birthday. This year, we decided to tone it down a little and just have family over. Of course, there was still a theme of blue, turquoise and lime green polkadots and plenty of fun decorations to make our Christmas-decorated house more birthday ready!

Dinner was our favorite-Mexican food! We served homemade white chicken enchiladas, two-cheese enchiladas and a taco bar. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the menu!!

The adorable invitations that were created by Jess from Polkadots and Pirates

Our door sign told guests it was time to PARTY!!!

The favors, framed invitation, and lantern I made to hang on the light fixtures

The delicious party favor cookies from Whimsy Cookie Co.

The party crown and hats from Polkadots and Pirates

Lighting the Menorah on the second day of Hanukkah

Drew and Ben painting ornaments


Jacob and Ben coloring in the playroom


The presents!


Yummy cupcakes from Elizabeth's Cakes in Plano



Blowing out the candle


Of course, our picky eater wouldn't even eat his birthday cupcake!

After the party, Jacob decided he needed a little alone time and went to his special play corner in the study with one of his new toys!

A Visit to Santa Claus

Last Friday, Daddy had the day off from work so we met up with Jacob's friend Anna (he says it more like Nanny) at Willow Bend to meet Santa. This is the same place we visited Santa last year, but Jacob was more able to enjoy the Polar Express theme this year! Unfortunately, our scanner doesn't work with our new computer yet (or should I say, just isn't hooked up correctly yet) so I'll try to scan in the official Santa picture later. It was amazing to see how much Jacob has grown!

Jacob and Anna posing before the real posing began!

This year, Jacob actually played with all of the train gear. Last year, he was sequestered to his stroller!

After visiting Santa, we took a detour to the play area. It was pretty crowded, but Jacob and Anna did a good job of continually finding each other in the sea of kids!

Before we left the mall to have lunch at Tin Star (no worries, our picky eater didn't starve, Momma packed him a lunch!) the kiddos took a little ride in one of the cars outside the play area. They had a blast!

Snowy Morning Playdate

We woke up this morning to a blanket of white, a rarity this time of year in Texas! Lucky for us, we had nowhere to go and were able to stay inside, cozy and warm.
Jacob's friend Anna came over to play and those two are absolutely hilarious together! We had a fun morning "watching" Home Alone and being silly.

Posing with their puppies

Hugs!

In Jacob's tent

Cooking in the kitchen

Teamwork!

Taking turns

Jacob and I were so happy Anna got to come play! It was a wonderful way to spend a chilly day!

Please????

Deck the Halls!

We had such a full, wonderful holiday weekend spending time with family, Christmas shopping, and of course decorating for Christmas! Jacob is absolutely in awe of the Christmas trees and loves looking at all the ornaments. We put only non-breakable ornaments within his reach!

Taking it all in...


One of Jacob's favorite ornaments is one we bought in St. Louis that has a train riding through the Arch. Jacob looks at it and says "Choo choo!".

Each year growing up, my parents gave my siblings and I a new ornament. When we moved out of the house, we then had a box of ornaments all our own that commemorated the years. The year Jacob was born, Nathan and I began this tradition with him. This year, Jacob's ornament is a handpainted turquoise ball with his monogram, in colors to match his birthday party!

Hugs for Santa

Today Jacob helped Momma unpack some new Christmas decorations, two of which were new Santas for the playroom. Jacob new instantly that he had a few new "friends" to pal around with for the afternoon and loved it!

I just know that next year we'll look at this picture and realize how little he was and how much he's grown!

Jacob already knows how important it is to get in good with Santa! What a kiss-up!

Jacob in a Box

With all the Christmas shopping we've done lately, we seem to have collected loads and loads of fun boxes for Jacob to play with. He was particularly fond of this one and played with it practically all day!!